Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6O-00743

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with National Records of Scotland and other organisations, on the challenges facing people affected by historic forced adoption when seeking to access records.

Question reference: S6W-05854

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which operators have been found liable under the Environmental Liability (Scotland) Regulations 2009 of causing (a) land damage, (b) water damage and (c) damage to protected (i) habitats and (ii) species, and what penalty was imposed.

Question reference: S6W-05762

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of NHS never services.

We wrote to NHS Boards on the 10 December to set out measures intended to support NHS Scotland to manage the continuing pressures resulting from the pandemic and the emerging threats posed by Omicron. Services which were considered essential under this direction included primary care services, vaccination, urgent and unscheduled care and drug and alcohol services. It is for local Boards to determine how they apply this guidance.

Boards were advised to review their planned care activity in line with the Clinical Priority Framework to support the delivery of urgent care and urgent cancer care. Patient safety will always remain at the forefront of any decisions made related to service delivery.

Question reference: S6W-05856

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04556 by Maree Todd on 6 December 2021, whether it will provide an update on its scoping exercise, including the remit and timeline; on what dates the roundtables will take place, and who will be invited to participate in the roundtables and to inform the work to improve miscarriage care and support for women who experience complications during pregnancy.

The scoping exercise referred to in S6W-04556 will help the Scottish Government to establish current service provision for miscarriage care and support that is available to women who experience unexpected pregnancy complications across all 14 Health Boards and will issue shortly. The issue of the questionnaire has been delayed due to service pressures within the NHS because of the ongoing pandemic. The first roundtable is expected to take place in March 2022 and we plan to invite health professionals and baby loss charities as well as inviting bereaved parents to share their experiences.

Question reference: S6W-05723

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 31 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it has used to determine a reduction in the period of self-isolation for those who test positive for COVID-19.

The Scottish Government used a range of sources of evidence when determining the latest isolation policy changes including data on various key aspects of the pandemic including vaccination rates; clinical advice from senior clinicians including the Chief Medical Officer, PHS public health clinicians, the National Incident Management Team and UKHSA analysis.

In addition, the Scottish Government considered the effects on key workforces and service, including health and social care, of retaining the same isolation policy.

Question reference: S6W-05855

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards have dedicated facilities for women experiencing miscarriage or unexpected pregnancy complications.

Question reference: S6W-05382

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the financial impact on the (a) Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) subway and (b) Edinburgh tram network of the introduction of free bus travel for under-22s.

Transport Scotland has engaged with Transport for Edinburgh and Strathclyde Passenger Transport to try to understand the potential impacts of the introduction of the national free bus scheme on their operations. This work will help to develop a baseline evaluation of the new Scheme, which will be reviewed after its first full year of operation.

There are separate local concessionary schemes run by local authorities or Regional Transport Partnerships that cover other modes of transport. Any decision to extend concessions to these modes rests with them.

The Scottish Government is also working with CoSLA and the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers (ATCO) to quantify the overall effects of the introduction of the scheme on wider Local Authority budgets.

Question reference: S6W-05381

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of public transport use of under-22s, and whether it plans to extend the free bus travel scheme for under-22s to subway and tram networks.

Transport Scotland has committed to an evaluation of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme following the first full year of operation. The evaluation will assess the short and medium outcomes and the long term impact of the scheme by comparing conditions at different stages.

Baseline data collection of public transport usage is now underway, including an online survey with children, young people and parents. This will assess travel behaviour attitudes and perceptions of travel prior to the scheme starting on 31 January 2022.

We currently have no plans to extend the statutory scheme beyond the existing bus travel provisions.

Question reference: S6W-05148

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 26 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to mitigate any risks to wildlife that may be caused by light pollution, as a result of the 2022 arts project, Green Spaces Dark Skies, which is part of the programme UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK.

Unboxed is a festival of creativity and innovation with Green Spaces, Dark Skies one of the six cross-UK programmes funded directly by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports and administered via Festival UK Ltd.

Details of all planned activity across these cross-UK programmes and the relevant contacts for further queries are available using the URL UNBOXED | Creativity in the UK (unboxed2022.uk) .

The organisers of the Green Spaces, Dark Skies programme across the UK (Walk the Plank) are responsible for delivery of their programme in all Four Nations and the Scottish Government understand that they have already been in contact with NatureScot (Scotland's nature agency), the relevant National Park Agencies, Historic Environment Scotland, the RSPB and relevant local partners in each community to ensure the work will be responsive to the sensitivities at the selected sites, including no adverse impact on wildlife and bio-diversity.

Question reference: S6W-04923

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the highest level of risk is, on the sliding scale from green to black, that has been identified at each NHS board in 2021.